Growing Flames
by HopeWasHere
Summary: When tragedy strikes, can anyone truly recover?


Summer stared at the strapless white sequined gown she had worn the Friday before to Homecoming. It seemed so ugly now. It sure wasn't worth the money she had paid for it. "Stupid dress! Stupid dance! Why did we go?" She screamed as loud as she could ripping the dress off its hanger throwing it to the ground. Summer fell to her knees and glared at the dress. "I hate you." Within seconds she could feel the fabric tearing between her fingers. She had imagined it would bring her peace but it didn't all it brought her was a mess of fabric. She could feel the tears cascading down her cheeks and pulled her knees to her chest. "I hate you!" She mumbled repeatedly rocking back and forth. "I hate you…"

_"Summer get a move on it!" David pounded on her bedroom door. _

_"Five more minutes! I'm almost ready!" _

_David opened the door and leaned on the frame. "You look perfect Summer. He'll love it." _

_She gave him a half-smile. "Are you sure…"_

_He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulder. "I'm positive. Any guy with half a brain cell will think you look gorgeous." _

_Summer glanced back into the vanity and re applied her lip gloss. "Alright let's go then."_

_"The limo's waiting. Lily's downstairs and Spot called he'll be here in a minute." He started for the door and noticed she wasn't moving. "Come on."_

_"I just think that Dad should have come home long enough to see us, take pictures like normal parents on their kid's senior prom…I mean our maids are taking pictures."_

_"Consider it a story for your future kids and grandkids." David pulled her wrist. "Now let's go."_

_"Lily! You look absolutely like a sex symbol!" Summer grinned and hugged her best friend. _

_Lily rolled her eyes. "You don't even know how much whining I had to do to get my mom to buy this dress." _

_They both laughed and David just watched. "You two are a trip."_

_The maids returned a second later with Spot following behind them. "Wow what service." He joked wrapping his arms around Summer's waist from behind. "Shall we leave?" He slipped a corsage with a single red rose around her wrist. _

_David shut the door to the Limo and tapped on the glass letting the driver know it was time to leave. "Let the party begin."_

She could feel his arms around her and turned around, but he wasn't there. He would never be there ever again. She was alone. Summer squeezed her eyes shut but the tears kept falling. "Come back…" She screamed throwing a glass at the wall. She could feel herself shaking, with every breath, with every step; she shook violently from the inside out. No longer did she have dreams, only nightmares. She couldn't eat, couldn't sleep and she could barely breathe without it hurting, without remembering. She couldn't look at anybody in the eye because she was too ashamed. There was nothing she could do; she would never be the same again. She would always be lonely and broken from that night on.

_"One…two…three…drink!" All four of them raised the shot glasses and drank every one of them wearing a smile after. "Another shot?" David held the bottle of Tequila and poured without waiting for anybody's answer. About eight shots later it began to hit them and the giggling started. _

_"The bottles empty." Lily held it upside down and made a pouting face. _

_"Turn that frown upside down right this instance!" Spot said pulling out another bottle; both the girls giggled and held out their glasses. _

_Summer pulled out her camera and snapped a few pictures. One was of David and Lily, Lily and her shot glass, Brett drinking straight from the bottle and a few other ones. _

_David covered his face. "Put the camera away and drink!" He laughed tossing a empty cup at her. _

_"Okay okay." She rolled down the glass dividing the driver and the passengers and smiled trying to keep a straight face. "Can you stop somewhere real quick and let me use the ladies room." Lily bust out laughing, spitting Tequila all over herself._

_"God Lily." Brett looked at her trying not to grin._

_They were all happy drunks and it was a time to celebrate. This was their last homecoming soon they'd all be going off to college. _

_Lily stumbled out of the limo and shut the door. David's head appeared through the window. "Lily, we're gonna drive around the block and come back okay?" She nodded and soon they were gone._

"What are we going to do about her?" Betty looked at Maria, another maid.

She shrugged. "It's not our job. There's nothing we can do."

"I mean she acts like the world has ended."

"Well she's seventeen, what do you expect?" Maria continued dusting.

Betty sighed. "I'm not sure. She acts like she's dead though. She hasn't left her room since Friday night."

"Well, we're not paid to think or figure out the bosses kids problems."

She was a newbie to the business. After working with a family for twenty odd years you begin to take things personally. David had even asked her to write a recommendation letter for his Yale application. It was different if you watched the kids grow up. "That's where you're wrong. They are like my kids."

Maria looked at Betty "You need to give her time to grieve; it's expected…if she's half as great as you claim she is then she'll come back around."

"And she'll be the fun spirited Summer I know and love, right?"

Maria nodded, smiling.

Betty looked at her with approval. She was young but she would make it just fine. She was catching on quick. "Look you missed a spot…"she pointed at a perfectly clean spot on the mahogany book case.

Maria rolled her eyes and threw the rag at her.

Summer made her way down the stairs wearing a pair of old gray sweatpants and a tight white tank top. "Can you drive me to the school for a minute Betty please?"

Maria gave Summer a puzzled look. "But you don't want the chauffeur to do that?"

Summer shook her head yes.

"Alright, let me get my purse." Betty smiled at Maria and Summer and took off towards the maids area.

"You okay?" Maria looked at Summer closely wearing a smile.

Summer nodded. "Tell Betty I'm in the car." She tried to force a smile but couldn't feel her lips move. She turned around and walked out the front door.

Betty stopped the car in front of her high school. "You want me to wait right here?"

"Yeah that'll be fine. I'm just going to grab some books from me and David's lockers." She climbed out of the car and slowly walked towards the school. The janitors were outside taking care of a practical prank. Some seniors had lit a trashcan full of garbage on fire and spray painted "class of '05 rules!" underneath it. Summer stopped dead in her tracks and stared at the fire. It held a spell over her, the overwhelming flames. She blinked and opened her eyes again and saw the image of a burning car. Immediately she shook her head and looked away walking back into the school.

Every head turned as she walked by. They all must have known, they all had to have figured it out. Summer didn't look at anybody; she didn't wave or even speak. But the persistent ones that stood right in front of her like they demanded an answer, she would look up and glare. She shot them such a hateful look but it wasn't directly at them because she couldn't bring herself to look anybody in the eye anymore. Finally she made her way towards David's locker, her arms full of her own notebooks and she paused to listen to the conversation some kids were having about homecoming.

"Yeah, she has to feel horrible." One girl with beach blonde hair said with a laugh.

"I mean does everyone think the world should stop?" Another girl chimed in.

The blonde one looked over and Summer could feel them looking at her. They're eyes tearing her apart. "Yeah, she was in the car with them. She must feel horrible."

She heard a deep voice start talking and she could only catch the last part "…yea to end a relationship like that it must be harsh. Her brother was at fault."

"Yeah, I heard that too." A new voice said and Summer glanced over and a short girl with bright red hair appeared.

The blonde one took the conversation over "Yeah well they deserve whatever happened to them."

Summer bit her lip and slammed David's locker shut walking over to the group. "You think they deserved it?"

She nodded with a smile on her face. "Yeah. I think they deserved it."

"Take it back." Summer gritted her teeth and squeezed the books till her knuckles were turning white.

"No." She laughed.

"Take it back."

"Why should I? It's the truth."

"Take it back. You didn't even know them now take it back."

"N-O…No."

Summer threw the books to the ground. "Take it back!"

None of her friends were talking now; in fact they were all looking at the situation with straight fear in their eyes. "The truth hurts." She spat tucking a blonde curl behind her ear.

Summer slammed the girl into the row of lockers behind her, pinning her with her arms. "Take it back."

She looked at her like she was crazy. "No. Ask nicely and maybe I will…"she taunted.

She grabbed a handful of "Barbie's" hair and started beating her head into the locker. "Take it back!" But even if the girl wanted to speak now, she couldn't. Summer felt her slap her across the face but it didn't phase her. "Take it back!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Once again tears were cascading down her cheeks, but they were different. They burned with anger and rage and she could feel them falling but she didn't bother to try and stop them. Instead she threw the girl to the ground and climbed on top of her, now throwing punches. She was hitting her anywhere she could. She could feel her hand make contact with her jaw and just kept swinging. "NOBODY DESERVES WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH! NOBODY!"

Someone was grabbing her arms and trying to pull her up off the girl. "Take it back!" She screamed again and she kept screaming it. Jack and Mush had one arm each and were struggling to pull her off of the girl.

"Summer come on," Jack mumbled twisting her arm behind her back and pulling up.

Slowly she stood up, still fighting. She looked down at the girl. "Take it back!" But the girl just stared at her and it set Summer off again. However Mush and Jack had hold of her arms and she resorted to her legs. She began kicking the girl with all the strength she could muster. She kicked her in her ribs violently and kept kicking her in the same spot. "Take it back!"

The girls friends helped her up and they looked at Summer in shock. Jack and Mush released her when the girl was gone and she crumpled to the ground crying. "Nobody deserves what happened to them, nobody." She said softly. Her white tee shirt was more a shade of crimson and there was blood covering her hands but still she held her knees to her chest and rocked rhythmically in the hallway like a baby.

_Summer stumbled into the convenient store and braced herself on the shelves making her way to the back of the store. She was incredibly wasted and found standing up to be more of a task than it usually was. Eventually she made her way back to the front and she waved to the store clerk._

_"Some night?" He motioned towards her dress and her obvious intoxication._

_"Yeah. Homecoming." She replied opening the door._

_"Have a nice night." He gave her a friendly smile._

_Summer stood outside and waited for a moment. "Where the hell are they?" And almost as soon as she said it she heard the screeching of breaks and tires burning on the asphalt. A car had ran the red light and cut their driver off. She saw the vehicle do a sharp right turn to miss the car and she watched it glide over the side of a parked car, keeping the right two wheels on the ground and the other two in midair. "Oh my God." She screamed. The limo came to a crash almost directly in front of the store on its side and that's when she heard it. Their screams and pleas for help. _

_"Summer! Help!" _

_She didn't know who was screaming but she couldn't move. She just stared at it. There were shadows beating on the glass outlined by a glowing orange. And she saw it a single hand trying to grip the window, feet kicking at the glass trying to get out. Then it happened the engine went up in flames right as the police and fireman arrived. Summer couldn't ever turn her head to acknowledge them but she noticed that no one was making their way towards the burning vehicle. "No!" her voice pierced the night. Moments later fiery flames engulfed the entire vehicle and she knew it was over. Her brother, best friend and boyfriend just burned to death right in front of her eyes and there was nothing she could have done. It seemed like it had been hours that she watched the car burn but when the police talked to her in reality it had only lasted about 5 minutes. She stared at the officer. _

"_M'am, we need to take a statement." The officer stroked Summer's arm. _

_Summer still just stared at her, completely speechless. _

_Eventually the officer left trying to see if giving Summer some breathing room would make it easier when she came back. But she wouldn't say anything. She sat on the curb watching them clean up the accident for hours ignoring anyone that talked to her and anyone or anything that touched her. Betty came and picked her up that night and took her home. The officers said that it wasn't absolutely necessary to pressure her into a statement at this time. _

_Betty looked at her, her eyes filled with sadness. She was so beautiful before and looking at her, looking into her eyes reminded her of death. She hadn't seen it… but what scared her the most was the look of horror on the young girls face. It would always be there in her mind, haunting her. She would forever from that moment on be marked by tragedy. _

Summer looked at Jack and Mush who were just starring at her. "I died that night too."


End file.
